A Hastings father has begun a mammoth motorcycle journey through the Arctic Circle in memory of his late son, setting from Hastings Pier this morning (June 15).eless driving.

Adrian said: “The planning for today started about two years ago when both my sons and I were creating a ride to the arctic. My older boy on his motorcycle, me on mine and my younger son Alex driving his car or my car as backup.

Adrian Caddy with his son Simon's Triumph Tiger SUS-180615-122826001

“We were just going to do a little quiet family arctic ride to mark Simon’s 30th birthday year and the 35th anniversary of my riding to the arctic on a motorcycle in 1983.

“The plans were all going to be fine because Simon was a first class traffic officer with Thames Valley Police and was about to finish his advanced Class 1 police training for motorcycleswhen an uninsured driver killed him.

“The next stages were lots of panic and not knowing what the hell to do next, until police colleagues and family friends were saying ‘you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to do it in Simon’s honour.’”

After deciding to go ahead with the trip– which has been dubbed as Caddy’s Arctic Ride – Adrian reached out to motorcycle makers Triumph to let them know he was going to take on the journey on his son’s 2010 Triumph Tiger 1050. After learning of the plan Triumph lent the team four new bikes – one for each other member of the team. Adrian has been supported by a number of other well-known motorcycling brands including helmet makers Caburg and Hastings Motorcycle Centre, which worked on Simon’s Triumph and did its MOT.

They have won the support of TV star Charley Boorman, famous for his motorcycle travel documentaries with the actor Ewan McGregor

Adrian said: “They’ve been brilliant and Charley Boorman has been brilliant too. He’s waiting for us in London and were going to have a ride out with him from the Bike Shed a little later today.

“But I can’t be a Hastings resident and look at a day like today, see our pier and not make use of it. After leaving Hastings, Adrian and Pepe will joined on the trip by a team of three other experienced motorcyclists. Thames Valley Police officer Julia Jacobs and her son Paul Wright are to join the team in London while the final rider Tony Weston, who Adrian describes as “the field archery equivalent of David Beckham”, will be joining the rest of the group later in the trip. More information about the journey can be found on https://caddysarcticride.co.uk